Waste disposal apparatus



Feb. 19, 1957 w. MOORE, JR

WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Aug. 25, 1955 R u R mm E O 3 V M m L a 1 m m 1\ 5 w I w z 4 .H 1 h HIS AT ORNEY United States Patent WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Walter L. Moore, Jr., Fern Creek, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 25, 1955, Serial No. 530,565

4 Claims. (Cl. 285-206) This invention relates to Waste disposal apparatus of the type having mechanism for grinding and discharging waste material into a plumbing system and adapted to be mounted below a sink drain opening, and has as its principal object the provision of an improved mounting arrangement for securing such apparatus to the sink.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

' Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of my invention, I provide a food waste disposer having a housing including a tubular member forming an upper inlet opening for water and waste material, means on the tubular member adapted tocooperate with a separate supporting member positioned on the upper surface of the sink wall surrounding the drain opening, and clamping elements arranged to secure the supporting member, sink and housing together.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary view, partially in section, of waste disposal apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the mounting structure, some of the parts being broken away to show details of construction.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the bottom wall of a kitchen sink having a drain opening in which waste disposer 2 may be supported. Waste disposer 2 comprises a housing 3 enclosing a comminuting chamber 4 and a tubular portion 5 forming a top inlet opening for water and waste material. Waste disposal apparatus 2 is provided with suitable comminuting or grinding means at the bottom of comminuting chamber 4, but inasmuch as the details of the grinding mechanism do not form a part of the present invention they are not described herein.

The upper inlet opening defined by tubular portion 5 may be closed by any suitable drain stopper which may be positioned so as to seal the opening or completely withdrawn therefrom and which preferably is adapted to be positioned in the opening so as to permit the flow of water into'the grinding housing during operations while preventing the ejection of waste material being ground. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, drain stopper 6 is of the type provided with grooves cooperating with mating flanges projecting into the inlet opening from housing 3 so that in its sealing position stopper 6 is securely locked to the housing and provides a convenient handle for lifting the disposer into place during mounting of the disposer upon sink 1.

My invention particularly relates to mounting structure for securing waste disposer 2 to sink 1 so that the upper inlet opening formed by tubular member 5 is in alignment and cooperates with the customary drain opening in the sink. As best illustrated in Figure 2, the upper end of tubular portion 5 is provided with means for engaging clamping means resting on the bottom wall of the sink, so that the waste disposer may be easily and conveniently mounted by lifting it upwardly through the drain opening, and securing the clamping means to tubular member 5, after which the disposer is supported on the sink wall and may then be secured against lateral and upward movement. Thus the upper end of tubular member 5 is provided with a circumferential groove 7 on its outer surface adjacent its upper end so as to form a circumferential supporting ledge thereon. Circumferential groove 7 cooperates with a clamping ring member 8 (which may be a split ring, for example) adapted to rest on the bottom wall of sink 1 so as to support housing 3. The upper end of tubular portion 5 is also provided with 4 a projecting bead or flange 9 which provides a circumferential ledge on the uppermost inner surface of the tubular member 5.

Waste disposer 2 is secured against lateral and upward movement by means engaging housing 3 and the lower surface of the bottom wall of sink 1 for securing ring member 8, sink 1, and housing 3 together. A clamping ringlt) encircling tubular portion 5 is provided to bear against the lower surface of the sink and is forced upwardly against the sink by a plurality of screws 11 threaded into the housing 3. Preferably a sealing gasket, which may be of rubber-like material, is interposed between clamping ring 10 and the bottom wall of sink 1.

To cover the uppermost end of tubular member 5 and snap ring 8 for the purpose of improving the appearance of the mounting structure or supplementing the sealing action of gasket 12, I provide a cover ring 13 overlying ring member 8 and secured thereto by a flange engaging the ledge formed by circumferential projection 9, and a plurality of finger portions 15 which are sufliciently resilient to snap into engagement with ring member 8. Cover ring 13 may be formed in two parts as illustrated in Fig. 2, in which case the portion 16 on which resilient fingers 15 are mounted may be spot welded to the main body portion of ring 13.

In mounting waste disposer 2 on sink 1, preferably stopper 6 is first positioned in its sealing position so as to provide a handle for lifting the apparatus. Disposer 2 is then lifted through the opening in the sink by reaching through the opening and grasping stopper 6, and then raised so that tubular portion 5 projects above the opening. Ring member 8 may then be installed in groove 7 after which the assembly may be lowered until ring member 8 rests on the bottom wall of the sink. Clamping ring 10 is then secured against the lower surface of the bottom wall of the sink by tightening screws 11 against ring 10, it being understood that ring 10, screws 11 and gasket 12 are positioned on housing 3 before tubular portion 5 is lifted through the opening in the sink. Finally, cover ring 13 is snapped in place to complete the assembly, it being understood that a suitable sealing compound may be applied to the periphery of the drain opening before snapping ring 13 into place, if desired.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, I do not desire the invention to be limited to the particular construction disclosed and I intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing enclosing a comminuting chamber having an inlet opening for water and waste material at the top thereof, said housing including a tubular portion forming said opening and adapted to project upwardly through the drain opening of a sink, a circumferential ledge on the outer surface of said tubular portion, a ring member adapted to rest on the bottom wall'of the sink and engage said ledge so as to support said housing, and means engaging said housing and lower surface of the bottom wall of the sink for securing said ring member, sink and housing together.

2. Waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing enclosing a comminuting chamber haying an inlet opening for water and waste material at the top thereof, said housing including a tubular member forming said opening and adapted to project upwardly through the drain opening of a sink, circumferential ledges on the inner and outer surfaces of said tubular member at the upper end thereof, a ring member adapted to rest on the bottom wall the sink and engage said ledge on the outer surface of said tubular member so as to support said housing, a cover ring overlying said ring member and securedthereto by a flange portion engaging said ledge onthe inner surface of said tubular member and a portion engaging said ring member, and means engaging said housing and lower surface of the bottom wall of the sink for securing said ring member, sink and housing together.

3. Waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing enclosing a comminuting chamber having an inlet opening for water and waste material at the top thereof, said housing including a tubular portionforming said opening and adapted to project upwardly through the drain opening of a sink, a circumferential ledge projecting from the outer surface of said tubular portion, a ring member adapted to rest on the bottom wall of the sink and engage said ledge so as to support said housing, a clamping ring encircling said tubular portion in engagement with the lower surface of the bottom wall of the sink, and screw members threadedly engaged with said housing and engageable with said clamping ring so as to secure said housing, sink and ring member together.

4. Waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing enclosing a comminuting chamber having an inlet opening for water and waste material at the top thereof, said housing including a tubular member forming said opening and adapted to project upwardly through the drain opening of a sink, a circumferential groove formed on the outer surface of the upper end of said tubular member, a circumferential ledge on the uppermost inner surface of said tubular member, a snap ring adapted to rest on the bottom wall of the sink and engage said groove so as to support said housing, a cover ring overlying said snap ring and secured thereto by a flange portion engaging said ledge and a plurality of finger portions engaging said snap ring, a clamping ring encircling said tubular member in engagement with the lower surface of the bottom wall of the sink, and screw members threadedly engaged with said housing and engageable with said clamping ring so as to secure said housing, sink and ring member together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,556,058 White Oct. 6, 1925 1,809,250 Pendleton June 9, 1931 2,166,786 Alexay July 18, 1939 2,477,686 Coss Aug. 2, 1949 

